This type of construction of electrical switch elements is known, for example, in the case of relays. A coil-armature combination is usually used as an actuator in the case of relays, where the armature is moved against a spring force by a magnetic force built up by the coil. The movement of the armature when the coil is switched on, the driving movement, is transferred to the switch contact by a switch mechanism, usually a simple connecting rod running parallel to the coil, which then carries out a switching movement and is brought into contact or out of contact with a stationary mating contact. In this way a circuit connecting the switch contact and the mating contact is broken or made in the process by an activation of the actuator.
In this known construction, the lift of the switching movement is the same as the driving lift of the actuator. That is disadvantageous in that in the case of an actuator with only slight lift resulting from its construction, the lift of the switching movement can be insufficient to separate the switch contact and the mating contact far enough away from each other and prevent a spark between the switch contact and the mating contact.
Therefore, the lift of the actuator is increased by a lever arrangement in some electrical switch elements, such as the relay described in EP 1 626 427 A2. The arrangement known from this document is, however, still not sufficient for actuators with very low lift.
An object of the invention is therefore to develop the known electrical switch elements so that even actuators with particularly low lift can be used, without there being the possibility of an uncontrolled spark.